Take some time this week to deeply reflect on the wonder and power of Jesus’ resurrection. It is not just some theoretical principle that we have to believe in. It is a reality which should fundamentally change our lives! Something to reflect on daily, not just once a year. Ultimately it is the resurrection of Jesus, and the promised resurrection of our own bodies, that should give us great hope in the face of our struggles with autogynephilia and gender dysphoria. Each day the resurrection gives me hope that my struggle is temporary, each day I’m filled with joy and peace, knowing that Jesus has already won the victory over my sin, shame, and death.

Here is an Easter Resurrection passage for us to dwell on this week – 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-16. I’ve bolded the parts I think we should focus on.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Think about the riches we have in our Lord Jesus. Through Jesus, not only do we get abundant life with God now, but we get eternal life and perfect happiness forever. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). Jesus has conquered our sin and conquered death. In him, we have full hope that one day our bodies will not only rise from the dead, but we will be transformed so that we no longer have any sinful nature, no more desire to sin, no more ability to sin at all. Seriously, a stupid temptation to mess with ChatGPT for fake crossdressing purposes is a desire that is temporary. It’s dumb and foolish. I can laugh at it. Its time is limited! And just as important, our living hope includes knowing that one day we will be at perfect peace and acceptance of our new resurrected bodies. We will look at our sexed bodies and not feel any disconnect, not feel any dysphoria. We will look at our resurrected bodies and say, “wow God you have gifted me with an intricate, amazing, and beautiful body. You are the master artist and Creator!”  No more distress or anxiety or discontentment about our bodies.

Verse 4 tells us we have an inheritance that can never perish. We as God’s children inherit the fullness of God’s Kingdom, living forever with Jesus! We get to explore and work in God’s New Creation for years upon countless years. No more pain, no more death, no more sickness, no more dysphoria. Contentment, adventure, and worship of our loving and glorious God!

As we wait for Jesus to come back and make all things new, verse 7 warns us that we do have to suffer grief in various trials. One type of trial we face is dealing with daily temptations to sin. And we have to deal with the unique thorn in the flesh of autogynephilic thoughts. Through no conscious choice of my own I had a transgender dream last night that messed with my mind upon waking up. I hate it. It was not a dream I enjoyed, even at the time. I am thankful such dreams have become more rare. But I rejoice that this life is short. I greatly appreciate my life and enjoy it. But I long for what is coming that is so much better! I rejoice that I will die soon or Jesus will return first. I cannot wait to see Jesus face to face! I cannot wait until the resurrection! I cannot wait until God transforms my heart and mind fully and completely so that my flesh no longer desires what is evil and what I hate.

The forgiveness and love that we have already received, and the hope that we have for the future, gives us inexpressible joy that we see in verse 8. Not future joy. But joy now, already. It’s not the same thing as the dopamine rush of sexual pleasure from giving in to sin. That is empty and pitiful and lasts only moments, followed by the bile of regret. But this joy is something that comes from deep within the heart; it is unbreakable, it is a firm foundation, it is satisfaction, happiness, hope, and a feeling of God’s love that is only found in knowing Christ. The worst waves of dysphoria are like one or two drops of rain on a beautiful hike in the mountains. Those two drops can do nothing to squash the joy of seeing the breathtaking beauty of a mountain peak view. And sometimes, the few drops of rain and the sunshine come together to produce a glorious rainbow. I think that is what many of us have begun to experience, and will experience more fully when Jesus makes us completely new. The dysphoria, while it is real suffering, while it is an evil, is becoming only a part of our stories and testimonies in a way that will ultimately proclaim God’s glory even more. As God works his redemption and freedom in our lives, the dysphoria in our stories will end up only highlighting all the more God’s amazing love for us and his powerful work of transformation in us.

As we wait for that wonderful day of Jesus coming of verse 13, we must focus on being holy. We must resist crossdressing, transgender fantasies and all other sexual perversity and paraphilias. How do we do this? Verse 13 says that we must set our hopes on the grace given to us in Christ Jesus, what we have already received, and the grace that is coming when Jesus returns. We respond to God’s grace with obedience and thanksgiving. God’s grace gives us the power to say “NO” to sin. And we look at God’s holiness as our example. We are to be holy like he is holy. As we enjoy the love of our Heavenly Father, we become more and more like him.

Let us all live in the victorious resurrection power which Jesus bestows on us through the Holy Spirit. Let’s give up our addictions and slavery to crossdressing and enjoy abundant life with Jesus! Here is a song to help you realize your victory you have in Jesus – Victory.